Johan Santana to make rehab start tomorrow with Class-A Brooklyn

Brad Penner/US PresswireJohan Santana has been on the 15-day disabled list with a sore ankle

SAN DIEGO — The ever-shifting plates of the Mets’ rotation appear to be in place, barring any setbacks for Johan Santana in his rehabilitation start tomorrow with Class-A Brooklyn.

If all goes well for the Mets, Santana will make his major-league return on Saturday against Atlanta. He’ll follow the Citi Field debut of rookie Matt Harvey on Friday night.

A scheduling quirk allowed the schedules of three of the team’s most prominent pitchers to align. Harvey starts at Petco Park. Santana pitches in rehab. And Zack Wheeler makes his Triple-A debut in Buffalo.

If Harvey and Wheeler have exceeded expectations this season, the third pitcher in the much-herald prospect trio has not. Jeurys Familia has struggled in Buffalo this season.

“He’s been up and down,” manager Terry Collins said. “Had a tough outing the other day.”

Familia gave up five runs in 2⅔ innings on Friday against Triple-A Syracuse. His ERA ballooned up to 5.18. He hasn’t completed the fifth inning in his last three starts.

Earlier this summer, Triple-A manager Wally Backman indicated that Familia had trouble repeating his delivery. He underwent a mid-July renaissance before devolving back into walk-prone form.

Familia throws in the upper 90s, with a solid breaking ball. He will most likely be a reliever in the majors. But he continues to issue too many walks, up to 5.4 per nine innings.

“More than anything, it’s like he’s pitching away from contact,” Collins said. “That’s Wally’s biggest thing. Last year he really attacked the zone with plus stuff. This year, he’s had some rough outings. And Wally said it looks like he’s trying to shy away from contact, instead of trusting his stuff. It’s a work in progress.”

• With Tim Byrdak on the disabled list, Josh Edgin becomes the bullpen’s only left-handed option. Collins indicated that right-hander Ramon Ramirez might be used to attack lefties. Ramirez had a reputation for that ability in the past. He’s shown signs of improvement lately, though he gave up five runs on July 22 and another run last Tuesday in San Francisco.

• Jason Bay sat on the bench for last night’s game. Collins cited the talent of right-hander Edinson Volquez as the reason for starting left-handed hitters Mike Baxter and Jordany Valdespin.

Bay will still play tomorrow against righty Jason Marquis.

“No, he’s playing [tomorrow],” Collins said. “He’s got very good numbers against Marquis. He’ll be in there.”

Bay is hitting .365 with five homers in 45 at-bats against Marquis. Of course, he’s faced Marquis twice since 2008.